In a pot, use a large nail or a pencil to make a hole for each cutting. Use a consistent convention for labeling the cuttings, such as a pot label at the beginning of each row, or a pot label at the beginning of the cuttings for each different kind of azalea. After sticking the cuttings into the medium, water them in to settle the medium around the cuttings, preferably without wetting the leaves.
Then cover the flat or pot with plastic to seal in the moisture. A large zip-lock bag works well with a one gallon pot, and a plastic tent can be made for a flat. Finally, put the flat or pot where it will get as much light as possible, with no direct sunlight. While brief exposure to early morning or late afternoon sun is not harmful, strong daylight sun will heat the enclosure and burn up the cuttings. The cuttings should root in four to eight weeks.
Be patient. While a very gentle tug can indicate progress, it can also break off any initial roots before they get established. When the cuttings have rooted, the enclosure should be gradually opened a little to acclimate the cuttings, and opened entirely in a few more days.
Finally, transplant the rooted cuttings to pots or flats of peat moss, sand and leaf mold and keep them from freezing temperatures in a greenhouse or cold frame for at least one year. Cuttings of deciduous azaleas are more difficult to root. The first problem is rooting them at all, and the second problem is getting them to break into new growth after they have grown some roots. The general procedure is the same as for evergreen azaleas.
The differences start with the cuttings, which should be taken earlier, while the wood is still quite soft and green, usually around late May. They will require the use of a rooting hormone. While a stronger rooting hormone will increase their chances of rooting, it makes it harder to get them to break dormancy and go into active growth. The cuttings will do best in a greenhouse with bottom heat from electric heat cables at around 75 degrees F, and with a mist system during the day to ensure they get all the moisture they can use.
However, they can also be rooted under plastic as described for evergreen azaleas. As soon as they have rooted, the cuttings should be fertilized with half strength liquid fertilizer and given three to four hours of extra light through the summer to force them into active growth.
Use 75 watt incandescent bulbs or a mix of incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, as close as possible to the cuttings without burning them, which is about 6 inches away. In late September, stop the extra light to let the cuttings harden off for the winter. Do not disturb their roots until they begin to grow the following spring, at which time they may be potted up or moved to a bed in the garden.
Cuttings from azaleas which are difficult to root can be grafted onto an azalea with a good root system. The scion or cutting wood should be dormant, and the root stock in active growth. They should both be decidous or both evergreen. Using a greenhouse is best, to force the root stock into active growth in later winter or early spring, while the plant to be reproduced is still dormant.
Follow any standard grafting procedure, being careful to match at least part of the cambium layers. It is helpful to then wrap the union in damp sphagnum moss and cover the entire plant, scion and all, in a plastic bag. Air layered shrubs often flower in their first year. But removing flower buds in their first growing season is advised to concentrate energy into strong root development. Our three methods for creating new shrubs are easy, reliable, and budget friendly ways to quickly add more beautiful azaleas throughout your landscape!
Choose stem cuttings for evergreen azaleas, and stem layering for deciduous or native cultivars. For bigger plants, including rhododendrons, air layering gives dependable results. And for more information on growing azaleas in your garden, be sure to check out these guides next:. See our TOS for more details. Product photo via Arbico Organics.
Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. A writer, artist, and entrepreneur, Lorna is also a long-time gardener who got hooked on organic and natural gardening methods at an early age. These days, her vegetable garden is smaller to make room for decorative landscapes filled with color, fragrance, art, and hidden treasures. Completely uncover both cuttings in another month.
Susan Lundman began writing about her love of gardening and landscape design after working for 20 years at a nonprofit agency. She has written about plants, garden design and gardening tips online professionally for ten years on numerous websites.
By Susan Lundman Updated November 28, Related Articles. Methods for taking cuttings are the same for both deciduous and evergreen azaleas:. Choose a 2- to 5-inch stem tip that's part of the season's new growth, that's still somewhat green and that bends instead of snaps. Cut the stem for propagation in the morning when the plant is most hydrated. Make sure that your plant was well-watered the previous day.
Fill a 6-inch pot containing bottom drainage holes to one inch below its top with the media mixture. Tamp the media down slightly to remove excess air pockets. Add additional media if needed to achieve the correct level in the pot. Select a blemish-free, disease-free azalea plant from which to take the cuttings. Look for stems sporting at least three to six inches of new, straight growth. Choose green, flexible growth on deciduous azaleas and new growth that has just begun to harden on evergreen azaleas.
Cut through the stem three to six inches below the stem's end with pruning shears. Repeat this process to collect multiple cuttings. Cut off the leaves on the lower two-thirds of each cutting, leaving only three or four leaves at the top. Tap each cutting gently on the hormone container's edges to displace excess powder. Push the media gently around the stem to hold it in place. Repeat this planting process with each cutting, spacing individual stems two to four inches apart. Insert four to five plastic straws into the media around the pot's edges, spacing them evenly.
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